Men's Water Polo

MIT Concludes Play at Claremont Convergence

Oct 07, 2007

Oct. 7, 2007

CLAREMONT, Calif. - After opening play at the Claremont Convergence with an 11-3 win over Whittier College on Friday morning, MIT's fifth-ranked water polo team dropped its final three matches of the invitational, which was co-hosted by Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. The Engineers fell to Concordia (Calif.) University, 12-8, No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer, 9-7, and No. 7 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 11-8.

The Cardinal and Gray dropped to 8-8 with the trio of losses.

Friday afternoon saw the Engineers locked in a tightly contested battle with National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) opponent Concordia. The Eagles took a narrow 5-3 lead into the halftime break, but an explosive third quarter helped Concordia push it's advantage to 10-4 heading into the final quarter. A resilient MIT squad refused to roll over, however, and put a strong run together in the fourth stanza to lessen the gap, but in the end it wasn't enough, as the final score finished 12-8.

Next up for the Cardinal and Gray was a Saturday afternoon match-up with co-host Pomona-Pitzer, which entered the match ranked second nationally in Division III. The Engineers burst out of the gates against the Hens, taking a 4-1 lead after the first quarter and a 5-3 lead into halftime. However, the hosts showed exactly why they're ranked No. 2 in the country, eventually fighting their way back into the game in the second half. Pomona-Pitzer evened the score in the third quarter before pulling away for the 9-7 victory in the fourth.

Lewis was the catalyst for nearly all of Tech's offense against the Hens, as he struck for five goals to match a season-high. Rosemond added the final two tallies, while Souza made three saves between the pipes.

The Engineers rounded out play at the Claremont Convergence later on Saturday with a game against the event's other host, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Stags jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and then focused on maintaining their slim advantage. Though the Cardinal and Gray created more opportunities than their opponents and played them evenly on the scoreboard throughout the rest of the contest, it wasn't enough, as MIT fell, 11-8.

Artz, Smith-Bronstein and freshman Matt Perkins each struck twice for the Engineers, while freshmen Preis and Spencer Williams rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece. Souza once again guarded the net for Tech, stopping six shots.

MIT will conclude its six-game California road trip with a match against Division I opponent Long Beach State University on Sunday, Oct. 7, at 2:00 p.m. The 49ers are currently ranked No. 7 nationally.